BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Changes on Horizon For Major Leagues

By MURRAY CHASS,

Published: February 17, 1993

PHOENIX, Feb. 16—
Dramatic changes are coming to major league baseball; the only question is how soon.

Although some club owners have talked in recent months about the desire to make changes, an official in position to know acknowledged for the first time tonight that such developments are on the horizon.

John Harrington of the Boston Red Sox didn't specify what changes are being considered, but they are known to include revamping the structure of the American and National Leagues, adding a round to the post-season playoffs and initiating interleague play.

"I don't see us making a series of changes all at once," Harrington said. "It might be a progression of changes."

Harrington is chairman of the schedule format committee, which for the last several months has been exploring the future appearance of the major leagues. He has had little to say about the committee's work, but he talked about it after a lengthy meeting today.

Committee meetings were held today and tonight ahead of a meeting of the 28 club owners Wednesday. '95 a Likely Target

Harrington said his committee had reached no final conclusions. Asked if changes could be implemented for the 1994 season, he told reporters at the Ritz Carlton Hotel: "It's still possible, but the window is closing. We're most likely talking about change for 1995. It won't happen all together. It's too complicated. With the schedules both leagues have, there are so many nuances and complexities."

The most widely discussed changes are the realignment of the two leagues and an expanded playoff format. The prevailing view is that the leagues would be restructured from the present two divisions of seven teams each to three divisions, two with five teams each and one with four teams.

An extra playoff round would be created by including four teams from each league. Instead of two division champions playing, the first round would feature champions of the three divisions and the team with the best record among the other teams in the league.

Interleague play, which has occurred only in the World Series, also appears to be coming. A survey of 11,000 season-ticket holders from the 28 clubs indicates a desire for such play on a limited basis, with regional rivals, like the Yankees and the Mets, playing each other. Interest by TV Networks

Bill Giles of the Philadelphia Phillies, a member of the committee negotiating the next contract with the television networks, confirmed tonight that network officials had expressed a desire for interleague play.

One person close to the higher echelons of baseball said earlier in the week that the committee was close to a deal with ABC for Monday night games and that ABC wanted interleague games. Giles denied that the committee was near a deal with anyone, but he said, "Everybody is interested in interleague play."

Harrington said the results of the fan survey match the thinking within baseball.

"The results aren't complete; they won't be for about three weeks," he said. "But we're using the survey to support our thinking on what changes baseball should make. The results will carry a lot of weight. There's strong interest in the game to make changes and we think the fan survey will support that."

One person familiar with the fans' responses said that the results of the survey were mixed, that generally speaking, younger fans want change but older fans do not. Furthermore, the person said, participants in focus group discussions held in five cities supported the idea of expanded playoffs, but no consensus emerged for how that desire should be achieved.

INSIDE PITCH

On a less universal matter, the Professional Baseball Executive Council, consisting of 10 major league and four minor league officials, rejected an attempt by the Yankees to move their Class AA Eastern League team Albany-Colonie team to Brentwood in Suffolk County for the 1994 season. The Mets objected to the move, saying a team on Long Island -- especially one affiliated with the Yankees -- would affect the value of their franchise. Suffolk officials had agreed in principle to build a 6,000-seat, $7.5 million ball park at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk County Community College, about 35 miles beyond the New York City line.